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What I took away from that - excluding the sad and unfortunate loss of great individuals - is that too many athletes aren't taught how to cope with failure. I have been there, an athlete with an injury and everything in life seems to be going wrong, but suicide isn't the answer. It's unfortunate that the NFL and colleges don't monitor players more for depression following injuries, especially the lower drafted players.

The NFL and other pro leagues need to start writing contracts in a way that money is placed into investments and not just handed to agents and player to be wasted. I know that they are adults and can do as they wish with the money, but many need the guidance and care they recieved growing up while learning the business side of sports.

What I took away from that - excluding the sad and unfortunate loss of great individuals - is that too many athletes aren't taught how to cope with failure. I have been there, an athlete with an injury and everything in life seems to be going wrong, but suicide isn't the answer. It's unfortunate that the NFL and colleges don't monitor players more for depression following injuries, especially the lower drafted players.

The NFL and other pro leagues need to start writing contracts in a way that money is placed into investments and not just handed to agents and player to be wasted. I know that they are adults and can do as they wish with the money, but many need the guidance and care they recieved growing up while learning the business side of sports.

This is exactly right. I have a whole new perspective on professional sports. I thought for a long time that if they made a roster they were set for life. Wow, was that wrong! You only hear about the big $30M deals and not the guys who play for a year and a half and struggle for the rest of their lives. I'm glad this is getting exposed. It's long, long overdue.

It's unfortunate, however, that we have these simpletons out there who think it's as simple as "tough tackles equal brain injury equal suicide." There are so many other factors in play, and these stories are great examples of that.

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"The secret of managing is to keep the guys who hate you away from the guys who are undecided."
- Casey Stengel